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Take That tune up for arena shows

Take That have told how they are looking forward to swapping stadiums for arenas - because they can avoid the rain and their audience will not be so far away.

The group - newly trimmed down to a trio after the exit of Jason Orange - have announced a series of shows next year with tickets due to go on sale on Thursday morning.

Chief songwriter Gary Barlow said he was looking forward to playing the indoor shows, which begin in Glasgow at the end of April.

"It's more intimate, our audience have stood in fields for seven years now watching us on a stage that's miles away, its time to give them a better view," he said.

And bandmate Howard Donald explained: "It will be much the same without the worry that it's going to rain on us. It'll be more intimate than stadiums and that's a good thing."

Barlow said discussions are already under way on how to approach this new set of dates to promote their forthcoming album III, their first tour since they launched their Progress Live shows three and half years ago.

He said: "We're involved in every bit of the tour, and yes we've been talking already about what we can do to blow our audience away but I'm not going to give anything away, you'll have to wait and see.

"I think we all want a big show, our dream is to always make people go 'wow'. That's the goal so that's all I'll be hoping for."

And Donald added: "We normally start talking about a tour from when the songs for the album 1st start getting written, so over a year for sure. We are 100% involved in which direction the tour goes. It's one of my favourite parts of the job coming up with the ideas for it."

He said they had already discussed themes for the tour.

"The last time we were out in LA writing, Mark, Gary and I would be in a hotel room together and we'd talk about videos, songs and tour ideas, between us we've come up with about three to four tour ideas already.

"People love our records but the tour has always been the one thing everyone wants to come and see and we know it needs to be something new, exciting and have something that no-one's seen before. We've had conversations about the stage already - it's going to be great."

Fans can apply for pre-sale tickets tomorrow if they order a copy of the album on Amazon by midnight today. General tickets for the tour go on sale at 9am on Thursday.